high on something like glee
by MedusaOfTheSpecies
Summary: "There's, like, easily a hundred ways this could go wrong." / "What if it goes right?" :: During their last month before they graduate, Teddy and his friends pull one last prank. :: For QLFC Round 7.


For QLFC Round 7: Department of Magical Games and Sports: Write about someone having fun. Additional prompts: (word) enlighten, (emotion) hopeful.

**high on something like glee**

**.**

It takes Teddy about four seconds to realize that Headmistress McGonagall and Professor Longbottom have teamed up to play good-cop-bad-cop.

He's kind of used to it, honestly. Harry and his grandmother do that often too, except it usually ends with Harry attempting to give an emotional heart-to-heart and his grandmother rolling her eyes at him.

"Mr. Lupin, what were you thinking?" Headmistress McGonagall chides. Professor Longbottom shakes his head in disappointment. "Were you even thinking? Did you somehow fail to realize the damage your four creatures would cause?"

Teddy winces, silently praying to Merlin in hope that his godfather will intercept the angry letter his guardians will no doubt be receiving. "That's a long story actually, Professor…"

**.**

It all starts the day Victoire Weasley realizes she's not going to be part of the graduation prank, which is ridiculous because Victoire is in her fifth year and isn't that _self-explanatory_, anyway?

"Seriously, Teddy?" Victoire pouts, batting her eyelashes. "Is a silly thing like age really going to prevent me from participating in whatever prank you end up doing, my dear?"

Teddy rolls his eyes. "Uh yes, duh. That's the whole point of a graduation prank — it's for those of us who will be graduating."

Victoire frowns, tilting her head to the side.

"What if I told you I had a brilliant idea?" she says. "Then, could I join?"

_No _is on the tip of his tongue. But it's also been months and he's thought of literally nothing good so far, and maybe, just maybe, Victoire could possibly have an idea good enough for his last prank.

"I'm listening," he says. "Enlighten me of your brilliance, Vic."

**. **

"Mr. Lupin," Headmistress McGonagall says, staring down at him sternly from behind her cat-eye glasses. "If your intention is to blame this catastrophe on Ms. Weasley, I can assure you that it is in vain. You both will be receiving punishment for your corresponding roles."

Behind her, Professor Longbottom nods seriously, his eyes creasing from the effort of maintaining an understanding and kind, but simultaneously saddened look. On one hand, he's doing a better job than Harry. On the other hand, it's not like that's hard.

"No way," Teddy says, "I definitely deserve at least some credit on this one, c'mon Professor."

**.**

Victoire's idea is kind of genius.

Teddy credits it all to her genetics, anyways. The entire Weasley clan seems to have a knack for pranking and mischief. It's like it's passed down with the red hair and too loud attitudes and the sheerly ridiculous amounts of freckles.

Meanwhile, his parents aren't exactly around to give him pranking advice, and Harry has no need for causing trouble because it follows him around anyways. His grandmother says that Harry could find trouble even while making tea and Teddy swears she's right. He's broken their kettle, like, eight times. Who knew that was even possible?

"Okay," he says. "Yeah, okay, we'll go with that."

Camille Selwyn shoots him a dirty look as she loosens her Slytherin tie and stretches across one of the many couches in the Hufflepuff common room. "Just out of curiosity, Lupin, do we get any input in this, or are we just going to go with what the fifth-year girl says?"

"Didn't your last plan involve both kidnapping and arson?" Evan Thomas shoots back.

"I still stand by it," Camille replies cooly, and Teddy swears he sees Victoire eyeing her with something like respect after that.

They do go with Victoire's plan, in the end.

**.**

"Teddy," Professor Longbottom says, "us knowing that other potential plans involved arson isn't helping your case."

**.**

Victoire's plan calls for three Hippogriffs, a truly unhealthy amount of manipulation, and pure chaos. Teddy's not really sure how she got sorted into Ravenclaw on a good day, and today is one of those days that makes him truly question the Sorting Hat.

Still, it's a simple plan but a good one: release three hippogriffs in three locations (the dungeons, the quidditch field, and the hallway leading to the dining hall), all labelled 1,2, and 4. It's a foolproof way of ensuring the teachers think there are four hippogriffs on the loose, and perpetually searching for number 3. All that the four of them need to do is to spread rumours of sightings and keep it going.

He's a little jealous he didn't think of it himself and sooner, but it's too late now for those kinds of regrets. They have ten more minutes before showtime and he's not about to ruin them. His only hope is that they get to go out with a bang before they graduate.

"Okay," Victoire says, taking a deep breath. "Camille, your job is to ensure the release of the hippogriff in the dungeon and make sure it doesn't kill anyone. Evan, you get the quidditch field. Teddy, you're stationed at the hallway. I'll be waiting for you near the kitchens and I'll begin creating hippogriff #3's damage. When the professors find your respective hippogriffs, your responsibility is to help me and make it seem like the hippogriff is everywhere.

Camille frowns. "That's a very badly thought out plan for an eagle. There's, like, easily a hundred ways this could go wrong."

Victoire opens her mouth, but Teddy doesn't give her time to respond. Camille, the grouch to his cheer, is one of his closest friends. She may complain, but she's a snake—she placed her loyalty with them a long time ago.

"Ah, but Camille," he says, "what if it goes right?"

**.**

"Mr. Lupin," Professor McGonagall says, peering over the edge of her cat-eye glasses. "Are you telling me there is no fourth hippogriff?"

Ted shakes his head. "It was just part of the prank."

Professor McGonagall and Professor Longbottom exchange looks of both surprise and horror. Ted frowns; something feels off here.

"Your story poses a mass problem," Professor McGonagall respond, "considering both I and Professor Longbottom have seen the fourth hippogriff with our own eyes."

This time, it's Teddy's turn to be speechless.

**.**

Not that it's much of a surprise, but Camille's part of the plan goes smoothly. He can almost hear the exact moment where the hippogriff is released, even from the Great Hall where he's stationed. The sound vibrates, screams of horror and surprise, and he can almost imagine Camille's smug face.

Professor Avilweyn is the head of house Slytherin and he's always been competent. Evan placed his bet on the hippogriff being caught within ten minutes, much to Camille's displeasure.

Speaking of Evan, Teddy checks his watch. It's early into lunch, so there are still plenty of stragglers in their dorms and outside, but there are no teachers in or near the quidditch pitch. Theoretically, Evan's hippogriff should be the last to be caught.

Quietly, Teddy slips the Marauder's map out of his bag. Most of the professors are already at the meal, considering classes have already been released for the morning. The burden of proper timing falls all on him for the moment.

Two things happen at once: the enchanted piece of paper that Teddy and his friends created for the purpose of communication lights up.

_Hippogriff #1 caught. Professor Avilweyn has shrunk him and is on the way to tell the Headmistress, _Camille writes in her neat scrawl.

Victoire's is only slightly messier, _Professor Avilweyn has passed the kitchens. Now, Teddy._

Mumbling an expanding spell, Teddy opens the cage he shrunk into his pocket. "Be free, my man," he whispers to the Hippogriff as he stands up to leave and drops it in a busy section of the hall.

It takes him the same amount of time for him to reach the doors as it does for the Hippogriff to reach full size and let out a sound of surprise and happiness. It takes even less time for Headmistress McGonagall to shrink him back and glare at the room.

"Whoever did this will be facing consequences," she begins, but at that exact moment, Professor Avilweyn stumbles into the room with a cage, his face pale.

"I think there's more of them," he says.

**.**

Teddy's not surprised when Victoire, Evan, and Camille are escorted into the room by Professor Avilweyn. They agreed on this from the start: they would tell the truth about what they planned and what they did. Just because they're prankers doesn't make them malicious.

"Between the three of you, six students had to be brought into the infirmary due to injuries from shock and fear. You are very, very lucky that the hippogriffs did not cause any physical injuries to students with their claws or teeth," Headmistress McGonagall lectures. "However, I am a firm believer in the punishment fitting the crime. Find and bring me the fourth hippogriff and then I will decide."

Teddy exchanges a look with Evan. _Was it you?_ He mouths, putting up three fingers to represent the third hippogriff. He almost hopes it was one of them, just so he can have an explanation, but Evan shakes his head, as do Victoire and Camille when he makes eye contact with them.

"It genuinely wasn't us," Camille states. "While I will put all my effort into tracking down this fourth Hippogriff, I want to make sure this will not be blamed on us."

Headmistress McGonagall doesn't even bother responding. Instead, she glares at them so severely that they stumble over their own feet as they flee her office and begin their hunt.

Teddy swears he hears Professor Longbottom laugh at them.

**.**

They wander aimlessly; none of the other students have seen an extra hippogriff.

"Are you sure they aren't just pulling our legs?" Evan asks, running a hand through his curly hair. "I mean, we thought this through. Where would a fourth hippogriff have even come from?"

Camille shrugs, deep in thought, and Teddy opens his mouth to give yet another improbable suggestion when they see it: another hippogriff, majestic in its height and colour, with a #3 labelled on its collar. It stands on its four legs and seems to make eye contact with them, its mouth opening in something that can only be described as hunger.

"RUN!" Victoire screams and they _do_, feet hitting the ground and hearts pounding so loud they don't even check to see if it gives chase.

**. **

"Do you think that was a little too cruel?" Neville Longbottom says in amusement as Headmistress McGonagall ends her spell and the supposed hippogriff transforms back into a tiny mouse.

"Mr. Longbottom," she says, her eyes glittering in a way his childhood self would never have believed, "this is their last month at Hogwarts. We cannot let them go without a suitable punishment for this mischief."


End file.
